Do You Build Stuff? Tinker? Whatever?

Not long ago a friend and I started getting into building some homemade instruments. We did a few small things here and there. We were talking about how we both liked a latin percussion instrument called a Cajon (Not cajones!) so we decided to set about designing and building some for ourselves. They came out good enough that several people have said they wanted to buy them. Don't know if we'll keep at it but I've really found I enjoy building stuff so now I'm looking for other interesting instruments to build. What next?

What do you all like to tinker with or build? Does anyone have any cool projects they've built that they've been particularly proud of?

Top Answers

I do build furniture from time to time -- Nothing too complex -- A bookshelf for my kids' playroom, an entry table, cabinets.

Last summer, I tried my hand at building kitchen cabinets and I think the end result was great. I had a blast doing it (don't tell my wife) and I got to update something that desperately needed to be updated. The best part is now that I have all the tools, I can do one at our new house for cheap (just the price of materials). The cabinet doors and drawers were the most fun part, by far.

Next, I'm building a hope chest for each of my girls, then maybe some matching beds, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

I'm an artist and hobbyist, so I make lots of stuff, from bronze sculpting to stained glass. My house is going to be 100 this year, so my best friend and I spend a lot of time working on it and we have built quite a lot of stuff. I mostly design and he mostly builds, I never have quite gotten the hang of power tools. But we've built fences, shelving, a cantilevered wooden shade for my dog, taken a small cabinet and cut it up and painted it to make a stand for a glass vessel sink. I have made bas relief poured concrete paving stones for my yard with dragons and butterflies and about a dozen different images with inset glass beads and shells.Just wait till I retire in a couple of years and then we are going to get really creative!

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I love to build stuff. I have designed and built several pieces of furniture, from simple cabinets, to to a platform bed with storage. My last project was a lounge chair. On that one, not only did I build the frame from scratch, but I dyed the leather that upholstered it. I always try to include a hidden storage compartment, just for fun.

I do build furniture from time to time -- Nothing too complex -- A bookshelf for my kids' playroom, an entry table, cabinets.

Last summer, I tried my hand at building kitchen cabinets and I think the end result was great. I had a blast doing it (don't tell my wife) and I got to update something that desperately needed to be updated. The best part is now that I have all the tools, I can do one at our new house for cheap (just the price of materials). The cabinet doors and drawers were the most fun part, by far.

Next, I'm building a hope chest for each of my girls, then maybe some matching beds, but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.

I'm an artist and hobbyist, so I make lots of stuff, from bronze sculpting to stained glass. My house is going to be 100 this year, so my best friend and I spend a lot of time working on it and we have built quite a lot of stuff. I mostly design and he mostly builds, I never have quite gotten the hang of power tools. But we've built fences, shelving, a cantilevered wooden shade for my dog, taken a small cabinet and cut it up and painted it to make a stand for a glass vessel sink. I have made bas relief poured concrete paving stones for my yard with dragons and butterflies and about a dozen different images with inset glass beads and shells.Just wait till I retire in a couple of years and then we are going to get really creative!

@moondrake: That's cool as hell. Had some friends who worked at a Bronze foundry for a while and that was really fascinating to see. I've always wanted to try my hand at glasswork as well. My dream would be to get the right tools to start messing around with artistic wood and glass creations.

@bingo969: I'm not sure what you mean by "inset". The shelves inside the cabinets are set in place (a groove was cut into the cabinet shell using a dado bit in my router. The shelves were slid into that groove prior to the face frame being glued on). Everything you see in the picture was done as custom work. I bought beadboard paneling to use as my door panels, but they were 3/8" thick, so they had to be routed down on the outsides to 1/4" so they'd fit into the door frames. The only thing that I didn't do custom was the crown moulding on top of the cabinets -- that came pre-routed.

I also did the rest of the work in the kitchen (floors, counter-tops, window, trim, beadboarding, electrical). It was my first kitchen, but I assure you it won't be my last. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I went about 30% over budget, but in the end I had 3/4" solid wood cabinetry, custom-made for my kitchen. I couldn't have gotten anywhere near my price if I hired someone else to do it.

So that I have money to give to woot, I build airplanes. For fun I am building a keezer with my brother, to serve his home brew beers. I am totally not used to working with wood (not to many airplanes built with wood in the last 70 years), but I am having a great time expanding my skill set.

I've always liked fixing my own stuff, or at least trying to. Pinterest has inspired me. I plan on making my own barrel smoker and composter next week. I want to make some patio furniture too. I found some I like on ana-white.com. They have instructions and everything. I just need more money for projects. lol

@bingo969: I have the good fortune to live near a college with a foundry in the art department. There weren't enough students to run it, so the professor allowed me to join them for two semesters and in exchange for labor I was able to cast a half dozen pieces in bronze and aluminum. I also have a few that were sent away to foundries for casting. As for stained glass, I think the basic tool set was about $300 but half that was for the grinder. However, if you have a stained glass shop in your area, they will often let you come in and use their grinder if you buy all your other supplies there. However, unlike a lot of other creative hobbies, the tools aren't the bulk of the cost in making stained glass. All the supplies are expensive, and it's very time consuming. Also, if you work stained glass and have kids or pets you need to exercise special care regarding aerosolized lead. Make one piece on your own and you will forever appreciate the work of other stained glass artists.

I'm pretty much a crafty person, but my parents used to own an apt building so I learned how to do and build all different things, since they were more in to DIY than hire someone. I built a staircase once, practically by myself, that was cool, I was very proud :) I also put wainscotting in my Mom's living room and dining room, that turned out nice too.

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